Ritz Camera sale to CEO approved by court

The sale of Ritz Camera to its former CEO and a team of investors was approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware Thursday evening.

David Ritz and his team, RCI Acquisition LLC, was the high bidder in an auction on Monday in New York City over nearly a 24-hour period. The group submitted a bid worth approximately $33.1 million. The bid was approved after a five and a half hour hearing, according to Jay Indyke of Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, an attorney for the creditors.

The sale is expected to close at noon Friday.

The approval of Ritz’ offer means there is hope for the company’s retail stores. Under the bid, RCI agreed to purchase the company’s assets and to operate no less than 163 of the company’s remaining 375 retail stores under the deal.According to the Ritz Web site, there are now nine stores in Massachusetts and another nine in neighboring New England states.